It happens every week.
A man wakes up on Sunday morning, a little disgruntled that he has to get up at all. But he does it, and he throws the family together to head to church.
There’s some bickering and squabbling along the way, all the while the man in the front silently wishes for a true day off without obligation, without demand and without a schedule. They get to church, and for the next hour or two, the man sits. And then he stands. And then he sits. He shakes a few hands and exchanges some small talk, and then goes home to find what measure of peace and quiet he can.
Now this, of course, is a broad and sweeping characterization. Thankfully, there are many men that find a story like this not only insulting but a little bit offensive. The illustration isn’t meant to point out what is true of every man, but only to bring out an issue inside us that, at many points, tempts us all.
The issue is passivity.
This is not a new issue. In fact, it’s a very old one, going all the way back to the garden. I’m certainly not the first one to point out the issue of passivity in the garden, but it bears repeating once again:
“When the woman saw that the tree was good for food, that it was pleasing to the eyes and a tree desirable to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate; and she gave to her husband with her, and he ate” (Gen. 3:6).
